The midsized premium SUV segment in Europe enjoys hot demand with sales up 25% in the first half of 2016. This is a result of renewed models and the introduction of new players to the segment, but while most premium segments are dominated by the Germans, amazingly the leader of the midsized premium crossover class is an already 8-year old Swede! The Volvo XC60 shows flat sales and therefore loses a big chunk of share compared to last year, but its lead was big enough to hold on to the pole position. Behind it, there’s a fierce three-way battle for 2nd place between the Range Rover Evoque, freshly facelifted and segment leader in Q1, the Mercedes-Benz GLC, all-new and ready to take control of the segment, something its predecessor GLK never achieved, and the Audi Q5, just as old as the Volvo but #2 of the segment in Q2. The Volvo is likely to hang on to the lead and the GLC will leapfrog the Evoque by the next quarter for sure, but for the rest of this top-4….. The Audi’s strength is amazing and I almost can’t believe it could still outsell the completely fresh and great-looking Mercedes, but that’s exactly what it’s done in the second quarter and remains a force to be reckoned with. [Read more…]

Midsized premium SUVs in Europe are booming with an increase of 25% in the first quarter of 2016, as Mercedes-Benz finally decided to bring a competitive product to the segment and a handful of older models are surprisingly stable. That hasn’t kept the Range Rover Evoque from reclaiming the lead of the segment ahead of the Volvo XC60. The Evoque has just been facelifted and benefits with a 15% increase of sales. It likely won’t hold on to that lead until the year, as sales of the model are heavily skewed towards March as a result of its popularity in the UK market. It’s surprising to see the XC60, basically an 8-year old model (facelifted in 2014), that still manages to outsell a hot and fresh new rival. I think the Mercedes-Benz GLC will lead the segment by the end of December, and that would be a first for the brand in this segment, as the GLK has never been able to keep up with its rivals.

The premium midsized SUV segment in Europe was red-hot in 2015, growing 25% to 366.008 sales as all remaining nameplates but one show volume improvements and two newcomers have stormed up the charts. After flamboyantly taking control of the segment last year, the Volvo XC60 consolidates its leadership by growing only slightly slower than the rest of the segment and blasting past last-year’s record sales for the already 7-year old model. The XC60 has grown by 67% in two years time thanks to its facelift and the introduction of new, four-cylinder engines. The Audi Q5, just as old as the XC60, improves its sales for the third consecutive year, albeit by a more modest 6%. That means the Q5 still increases the gap to the #3 Range Rover Evoque, as that model is up by just 2% as customers were waiting for the facelifted version to arrive in showrooms. When that happened, the Evoque was up 11% in Q4.

Sales of premium midsized SUVs in Europe slow down their impressive growth rate in Q3, with sales up 13% for the quarter, compared to 29% in the first half of 2015. This means the segment has already added over 50.000 units of volume so far this year. Much of this growth comes from new entrants to the segment, but also from the segment leader this year: the Volvo XC60. With an increase of 29% and almost 13.000 added sales, the XC60 looks unbeatable for the rest of the year , even though the Audi Q5 outsold it in August and was only 1.000 units behind in the third quarter.

The Range Rover Evoque has suddenly lost a third of its volume in Q3, after gaining 11% in the first half. The Evoque will be facelifted slightly, without much changes to its exterior design, and the addition of a convertible won’t make much of an impact sales-wise, as our readers agreed in the poll. [Read more…]

The Premium Midsized SUV segment in Europe continues its surge, with sales up 29% in the first half of 2015, boosted by new introductions to the segment, but also continued strength of the existing models, as only 2 SUVs show year-over-year declines (not including the discontinued Land Rover Freelander). The Volvo XC60 confirms it is now the new leader of the segment, with sales up 31% on last year. The XC60 has really been boosted by its facelift and engine updates last year, as it enjoyed record sales in 2014, and is set to do even better this year. As I predicted in the Q1 segment analysis, the Audi Q5 reclaims second place from the Range Rover Evoque. The Evoque will be updated later this year, and a convertible version will be added, although I doubt that will add a lot of volume to the model. A new generation Q5 should arrive next year, but Audi hasn’t yet confirmed this. [Read more…]

As expected, sales of midsized premium SUVs in Europe are booming thanks to a handful of new models and the continued improvement of existing players. After growing 11% to almost 300.000 units in 2014, the segment adds another third to its volume in the first quarter of this year. Extrapolating this growth rate to the full year, premium brands will sell almost 400.000 compact SUVs in 2015.

Volvo continues where it ended 2015 for the first time ever: on top of the ranking. The Volvo XC60 is up 26%, the highest of the top-5 and thus consolidates its new-found leadership. This is the only segment where Volvo clearly outsells its German competitors, which are even outsold by the Range Rover Evoque, although the Audi Q5 is likely to reclaim its #2 spot later this year, as the Evoque will be updated in the second half of the year. Besides that, the small Range Rover traditionally benefits from strong March sales in the UK to enjoy a strong first quarter. Remember it was the leader of the segment in Q1 of 2014? [Read more…]

The premium midsized SUV segment was booming in 2014, especially in the fourth quarter, when sales were up 25%, leading to a full-year increase of 11%. At close to 293.000 sales, the segment breaks its sales record and looks ready to easily blast through the 300.000 sales threshold in 2015. Leading the charge is the recently updated Volvo XC60, which flamboyantly takes the lead of the segment, for the first time ever in its 7-year long career. Volvo credits the increased popularity to its new generation of 4-cylinder engines, most notably the frugal diesel version, as the D4 engine accounts for more than one third of XC60 sales in Europe.

The XC60 had a particularly strong fourth quarter, selling almost 20.000 units in three months time, enabling it to pass the Audi Q5 which had controlled of the segment since Q2 after the Range Rover Evoque took an early lead in the first quarter. [Read more…]